1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connectors which can be mated and unmated in a harsh environment, such as underwater.
2. Related Art
There are many types of connectors for making electrical and fiber-optic cable connections in hostile or harsh environments, such as undersea connectors which can be repeatedly mated and demated underwater at great ocean depths. These connectors typically consist of plug and receptacle units or connector parts, each attached to cables or other devices intended to be joined by the connectors to form completed circuits. To completely isolate the contacts to be joined from the ambient environment, one or both halves of these connectors house the contacts in oil-filled, pressure-balanced chambers.
Both the plug and receptacle halves of most fiber-optical connectors which are mateable in a harsh environment have oil-filled chambers. The chambers are typically brought face-to-face during an early step of the mating sequence. In a subsequent mating step, one or more connective passages, sealed from the outside environment, are created between the chambers of the mating connector halves. The passages join the two oil-filled chambers, creating a single, connected oil volume. Actual connection of the contact junctions then takes place within the common oil chamber. There are several patented examples of such connectors, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,682,848; 5,738,535; 5,838,857; 6,315,461, and 6,736,545.
Some such existing connectors work very well. The technology is relatively new, however, and there is still much room for improvement. In particular, the existing products are complex, expensive, and their reliability is not flawless.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that offers improvements in complexity, performance, and reliability and reduces or overcomes these significant problems found in prior wet mate connectors as described above.